Vasai: The suicide of two teenagers in Virar has taken a significant turn. While it has been confirmed that one of the teenagers committed suicide due to a broken heart, the mystery surrounding his friend’s death persists. Police have suggested two possibilities: that he either took his life in solidarity with his friend or that he lost his balance and fell while attempting to save him.

The incident occurred on Monday night when two friends, Sham Ghorai (20) and Aditya Singh (21), jumped from the 16th floor of an under-construction building in Bolinj, Virar. The two were close friends who resided in Achole, Nalasopara, and were studying at Rahul International College. The case initially became more complex due to allegations of murder from the parents, who claimed that their sons were pushed off the building.

During the investigation, police found a suicide note written by Sham inside a book at his home. In the note, he revealed that he was in love with a girl who was in a relationship with someone else, and that this was the reason for his depression and subsequent suicide.

With Sham’s motive confirmed, the question of why Aditya also jumped has been raised. Police have not yet found a concrete reason for Aditya’s death. According to Deputy Commissioner of Police Suhas Bawche, there are two possibilities: that he may have taken his own life out of loyalty to his friend, or that he might have fallen while trying to save Sham. Bawche has clarified that foul play has been ruled out and no third party is believed to be involved.

New Delhi, Oct 9: The Supreme Court has expressed shock at the status of criminal trials in Maharashtra, having found that hundreds of cases have been pending for framing of charges for over a decade — some dating back as far as 2006.

“Registrar General of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay has filed an affidavit annexing certain documents which we have perused. To say the least, it is a reflection of a very shocking state of affairs, insofar as the conduct of trials before different Courts in the State of Maharashtra is concerned,” observed a Bench of Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice N. Kotiswar Singh, taking note of the affidavit filed by the Registrar General of the Bombay High Court.

The Justice Kant Bench said that despite the filing of charge sheets, trials in at least 649 cases across Maharashtra have not proceeded beyond the stage of framing charges.

“The said affidavit reveals that there are at least 649 cases in which charges are yet to be framed, despite filing of the charge sheets, in certain cases, way back in the year 2006, 2013, 2014 and onwards till the year 2020. The reasons assigned for delay are multiple, including, and most significantly, in almost every trial, either non-production of the accused or non-appearance of the advocate, be it the prosecutor or the defence,” it observed.

Noting that the petitioner has been languishing in jail for over four years without charges being framed, though the charge sheet in his case was filed in July 2021, the apex court said: “The petitioner has been in jail for more than 4 years since 11.04.2021, and today his status remains the same as it was on day one of his incarceration. Charges would have to be framed, the process of trial would take its own time, and by the time a final conclusion is reached, he would have remained behind bars for many years on end.”

The Supreme Court has directed the Registrar General of the High Court to obtain detailed reports from each District and Sessions Judge regarding the steps taken to ensure the timely framing of charges and compliance with earlier circulars on the production of undertrial prisoners either physically or virtually, as per the stage of trial.

The matter will now be heard next on October 17, with the Supreme Court seeking a comprehensive compliance affidavit. “The Registrar General shall also apprise the learned Chief Justice of the High Court of the passing of this order,” it said.

Mumbai: A major human trafficking racket was exposed at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport due to the alertness of immigration officials. The accused, Vijay Kumar Radheshyam Grover (43), was caught attempting to take 28-year-old Kamaljit Kaur to the Netherlands’ Amsterdam by posing as her husband.

Officials found discrepancies during questioning, leading to the discovery of fake documents. The case is currently under investigation by the Property Cell of the Mumbai Crime Branch, and a team has been dispatched to Punjab for further probe. Grover has been remanded in police custody till October 15.

According to police sources, Accused VijayKumar, who works as a travel agent in Delhi, has traveled abroad 13 times to nine different countries including Thailand, China, Dubai, and London.

He is suspected to have facilitated passports and visas for around 30 to 35 individuals. On October 7, he arrived at the Mumbai international airport with Kamaljit Kaur, claiming she was his wife and that they were flying to Amsterdam.

However, immigration officers noticed inconsistencies in their responses during routine questioning. Further scrutiny revealed that the marriage certificate dated December 2023 they presented was fake. Kaur was immediately rescued, while Grover was detained for questioning. Investigations revealed that Kaur’s cousin, Sonu — a Belgium citizen — had introduced her to Grover.

A case has been registered at the Sahar Police Station under sections 143(2), 336(2), 336(3), 340(2), and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023, for human trafficking, cheating, and forgery.

The accused allegedly forged marriage documents to fraudulently obtain a European visa for himself and Kamaljit Kaur and attempted to take her illegally to Amsterdam on flight 6M-21 from Mumbai.

The investigation is being led by Senior Police Inspector Mangesh Desai and PSI Sachin Jadhav of the Property Cell, Crime Branch. Police are now tracing agent Gagandeep Singh Bhinder and others suspected to be part of this trafficking network. Authorities are also probing whether this is part of a larger cross-border trafficking racket operating from Punjab and Delhi.